Of course, with every wedding is a wedding supper. It is no different in the spiritual realm than in the physical. After all, the physical is many times a manifestation of the spiritual. As the Church is the bride of Christ, we will then be a part of a marriage supper that will occur in heaven (Rv 19:7). This could not occur until the Church was made blemish free and conducts the righteous acts of God (Rv 19:8).

In Jewish weddings, this phase of the marriage ceremony could last an entire week. This is similar to what will occur in heaven as well. While this is going on, the Tribulation Period on earth is also occurring—for seven years. As we have seen in other passages of Scripture, a day for a year is not uncommon (Dn 7:25; 12:7; Rv 12:14). This gives the bride time with her bridegroom before they dwell together for all eternity.

Understanding this also helps us to understand that the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture event cannot be the same event and occur simultaneously. Otherwise, this phase of being the bride of Christ could not occur because this event occurs in heaven (Rv 19:1).

Another factor in understanding these two events are indeed separate events is recognizing that the trumpet talked about by Paul concerning the Rapture (1Co 15:52) is not the same as the seventh trumpet talked about by John (Rv 11:15). Perhaps understanding the Jewish feasts of Shavuot (Pentecost) and Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) can help us here. As we talked about earlier, the first trumpet is noted as the trumpet blast that occurs on Shavuot because this represents the betrothal period of God and Israel. And we mentioned that Shavuot (Pentecost) was also the beginning of the Church Age (Ac 2). So, the time period between the first and last trumpet would represent the entire Church Age. This then begs the question as to when is the last trumpet to sound? It would stand to reason that Rosh Hashanah would have some play in this as it is known as the Feast of Trumpets (Lv 23:23-25). There are one-hundred trumpet blasts that occur on this day, yet the last trumpet call of the day has a different sound than any of the others. Could this be the last trumpet call Paul referred to? After all, this would be something known to Jews, and he was a Jew after all.

These Jewish feasts were also prophetic and are all about the nation of Israel and are about the Church, the bride of Christ, in that because of our belief, we have been grafted into their promise as well (Ro 11:17). We know that Pesach (Passover), Matzah (Unleavened Bread), and Bikkurim (Firstfruit) represent the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1Co 5:7; 15:20; 2Co 5:21), and Shavuot (Pentecost) represented the coming of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2). The Fall Jewish Feasts refer to what will occur in the “end times.” Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) represent God remembering his covenant with Israel, since Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) was only ten days away where they would be judged as a nation, Israel wanted God to remember his covenant with them as they had no other grounds to stand on before a holy God. This would represent the beginning of the Tribulation Period because this period of future history is for the retuning of both Judah and Israel back to their homeland (Is 11:11-22; Ek 37:1-28; 39:27-28; Jr 19:14; 32:37). Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) represents the Second Coming of Christ as he will heal and forgive Israel upon his return (Zc 12:10; 13:1), and Sukkot (Tabernacles) represent the beginning of Christ Millennial Kingdom as he will be dwelling with his people on the earth (Zc 14:9; Rv 20:4).

Therefore, the last trumpet blast is a representation of the end of the Church Age and the beginning of the Tribulation Period where God remembers his covenant with Israel and begins to work with her again (Ro 11:25-27).

If the event of the marriage supper is occurring in heaven, what is really happening on the earth during this time? Join me in my next post and we’ll find out together.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

Many have thought and been taught that the next event for this generation is the Rapture, or the Receiving of the Bride by Christ. The premise was that the evil in the world would increase more and more, and God would then have the Rapture occur to save his bride.

Some teach the Rapture will occur before the coming Tribulation Period starts. Others teach the Rapture will occur half-way through the Tribulation Period, others teach it will occur three-quarters through the Tribulation Period, and still others state it will not occur until the end of the Tribulation Period, or maybe even not at all.

Those in the pre-tribulation rapture camp point to several Scriptures to support this premise. God states his people will not be part of wrath (1Th 5:9) and what will be coming on the earth (Rv 3:10). They also point to the time of Noah in which the ark which saved Noah and his family from the wrath of the flood as a metaphor of God saving his people from his coming worldwide wrath. They also state that the evil in the world today is not part of God’s wrath as stated in Scripture because that wrath will be much worse than what we are experiencing today.

Those who believe the Rapture will not occur until the Tribulation has started point out the evil in the world as proof that wrath has already started. It seems the main support of this view is that the wrath of God is not the beginning of the Tribulation Period but the beginning of the Great Tribulation Period (Rv 11) and they therefore believe the persecution of the followers of Christ in the first three and one-half years of the Tribulation Period (Dn 7:25) is talking about believers today rather than those who become believers after the Tribulation period starts. In addition, they believe the trumpets mentioned by Paul and John are the same trumpet (1Co 15:52; Rv 11:15) while others believe these are not the same.

Those who believe the Rapture occurs three-quarters through the Tribulation Period state the wrath of the tribulation is broken into three separate phases of wrath: the wrath of Man, the wrath of Satan, and the wrath of God. Christians are protected from the Wrath of God but not from the Wrath of Man and Satan.

Then, there are those who believe the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture are really the same event. The Rapture occurs and then immediately Christ returns to the earth.

Yet, it seems these views are not the case because the idea of the Kingdom Age we mentioned in a previous post has not been considered in any of these views concerning the Rapture. I think all these views will become united if we consider the Kingdom Age (i.e., the end of the Church Age). This shows that the evil we are currently experiencing, even though severe, is not the evil, or God’s wrath, that these current views of the Rapture are defining.

Also, perhaps the confusion around the timing of the Rapture is because we have not taken the Rapture event into its proper context. The groom would show off his bride before taking her to his home. He would not allow her to be crushed if he had the power to prevent it. Granted, evil in this world has increased at an ever-alarming rate and many individuals within the universal Church, Christ’s bride, have suffered. Yet, this is as Christ prophesied (Mt 24: 9-13). Why would he allow such to occur? As Paul stated, Christ wants a bride who is without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish and is holy and blameless (Ep 5:26-27). Is the Church that way currently? No. No, it is not. We have a lot of disunity within the body of Christ. Paul also tells us Christ bride is to be a picture of unity and will bear with each other in love (Ep 4:2-3). So, this is what the Lord is currently doing—making his bride pure. Then, rather than taking her away, he is going to present her to the world as she was originally intended to be. The effect of the Church, his bride, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, will allow the entire world to see and honor his bride. Many in the church will lead scores of others to become part of Christ’s bride.

It is then, and only then, after a large harvest of souls, who also become part of Christ’s beautiful, unified bride, will he then come to receive her—a bride beautiful, without blemish. He will receive his bride from the earth in all her glory, not in her humiliation.

How does this then unite all these views of the Rapture? It shows that there is a definite demarcation between the current evil in the world and the evil that is to come. Therefore, it is after the Kingdom Age at the end of the Church Age where the time of the Wrath of God of earth history will occur. Since all these views of the Rapture are united in stating the Rapture occurs just prior to the coming of God’s Wrath, understanding the time of the intense outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the reign of the Church during this time, it brings the timing of the period of God’s Wrath in each of these Rapture views to be at the same time.

This helps us to see that really understanding God’s Scripture to us really does help to put all our disagreements into their proper context and we become more unified in our doctrinal beliefs. Perhaps us now understanding the aspect some are calling the Kingdom Age, or the end of the Church Age, is God starting to unite his Church so he can work with it and bring it to being his unblemished bride.

Some have stated that Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) represents the Rapture of the Church, but these feasts are prophetic for Israel. However, this feast is not totally devoid from the Church because if this feast is representative of God remembering his covenant with Israel (Ro 11:28-32), then God can’t concentrate on Israel as a nation again until the Church is removed. This accomplishes two things: God can focus on bringing his people back to their homeland during the Tribulation Period (Israel), and he can remove his bride from the coming wrath of the Tribulation period (the Church).

God is so multifaceted, isn’t he? Only he could accomplish so much in such a unique way that glorifies not only himself but us, his bride, as well. What a mighty God we serve!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

In our last post, we mentioned that the Rapture was an initiation point for the Marriage Supper of the Lamb (Rv 19:7-9) and had no connection to the Jewish timeline throughout Scripture (Ro 11:25). I thought we would spend a little more time on that.

The picture of today’s post represents the gap we are talking about. Each of the Jewish Feasts (or festivals) had a prophetic significance. We have discussed some of this in previous posts, but I will summarize them here. The first four have been fulfilled and we know that because Scripture tells us so.

Pesach (Passover): This was on the 14th day of the first month (Lv 23:5). We know that Christ was crucified on Passover (Lk 23:54) and that he was the Passover sacrifice (1Co 5:7) to which this festival points.

Matzah (Unleavened Bread): This was a feast that started the day after Passover and lasted a week (Lv 23:6). Leaven (yeast) was purged from each and every home (Ex 12:15). Leaven is symbolic of sin (1Co 5:6-8). This represents that the death of the Passover sacrifice (representative of Christ) removes sin from our lives.

Bikkurim (Firstfruits): This was on the 2nd day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, or the third day after Passover. The first gleaning of the barley harvest was brought as a sacrifice (an unleavened barley loaf). This is representative of Christ being the firstfruit of the resurrection (1Co 15:23) and was raised on Firstfruits (Ac 10:40).

Shavuot (Pentecost): This was the 50th day after Firstfruits (Lv 23:15-16) where the first gleaning of the wheat harvest was brought as a sacrifice (two loaves of leavened wheat; Lv 23:17). This is representative of the giving of the Holy Spirit (Ac 2:1-4) which then joined both Jew and Gentile (Cl 3:11) – whomever accepted Christ as their Savior. It came to represent the Age of Gentiles (i.e., the Church Age; Ro 11:25).

These four are fulfilled and are now part of our past. The other three cannot be fulfilled until the Age of Gentiles (the Church Age) is completed. The Rapture (Receiving of the Bride) is the perfect event for this to be accomplished. The Church is removed from the Earth and God can then focus his attention back on Israel as a nation.

Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets): Although known as the Jewish New Year, it was on the 1st day of the seventh month in Scripture (Lv 23:23-24). It was known as a feast of memorial or remembrance (Lv 23:24; Nu 10:10). In other words, to sound the trumpets to request God to remember his covenant with Israel. There are at least three examples of this (2Ch 5; Er 3; Ne 8). Why? The Day of Atonement where judgment was to be imputed was coming. Individuals could not trust in their own merit, they needed to rely on the covenant God made with Israel in order to stand before a Holy God. This feast will be fulfilled when the Tribulation Period begins as God will deal with Israel as a nation once again and bring both Jew and Israelite back to Israel as a nation (Jr 33:7).

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement): This was on the 10th day of the seventh month (Lv 23:27): the day the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies to atone for the sins of Israel (Lv 16). The sacrifice again points to Christ as our atoning sacrifice (1Jn 2:2). This will be fulfilled upon Christ’s 2nd coming as all of Israel will then be saved (Zc 13:1; Ro 11:26).

Sukkot (Tabernacles): This was on the 15th day of the seventh month and lasted for a week (Lv 23:34). The people lived in booths (Lv 23:42) and were to rejoice (Lv 23:40; Dt 16:14-15) which demonstrated God’s provision and strength (Ne 8:10) to them during the nation’s journey to their Promised Land (Ps 27:5, 31:20; Is 4:6) and pointed to the time when their coming Messiah would dwell with them (Is 35; Zc 12:10-13:1, 14:16). This will be fulfilled as Christ dwells with his people and rules over the earth for 1,000 years (Rv 20:4).

The gap between these feasts (festivals) of those which have already been fulfilled and those not yet fulfilled has been called the Age of Gentiles or the Church Age (Ro 11:25). From an Israel perspective, the clock stopped when the Church was initiated and the nation of Israel was set aside, for a time, until the Church is removed. The timeline then starts up again because Israel is once again God’s focus.

From this you can see why the Rapture is not part of Jewish prophecy but a key part of Scripture prophecy as it is the turning point of God’s focus being on the Church to being back on the nation of Israel.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens

The Church, or those who put their faith in Jesus Christ as the payment for their sins and their eternal future, is known as the Bride of Christ (Ep 5:24-27; 2Co 11:2). Now, to picture how we fit into this analogy, we need to understand the Jewish concept of a wedding. After all, as we have stated many times, the Bible is written from a Jewish perspective. There are three main components to a Jewish wedding. Let’s explore those:

First Part: Betrothal Period. A marriage contract was signed by the parent of the bride and the bridegroom. The parents of the bridegroom, or the bridegroom himself, would pay a dowry to the bride or her parents. This first part of the marriage between Christ and the Church is completed when each believer places his or her faith in Christ as their Savior. The dowry (the blood of Christ) was paid by the bridegroom (Christ) to the bridegroom’s parent (God the Father) on behalf of the bride. As the Church is composed of individuals, the bride is still being formed as believers put their faith in their bridegroom. Yet, at some point in the future, the bride will be considered complete (Ro 11:25). The second part of the wedding will then commence.

Second Part: Receiving the Bride. The groom went to get the bride after a period of time – usually occurring a year or so later. One reason for this was to be sure the bride was pure and a virgin. If the woman was not a virgin, it would become evident within the year. At some undisclosed time, the bridegroom, accompanied by his male friends, would go to the house of the bride (typically somewhere around midnight) and take her and her bridesmaids to the bridegroom’s home via a parade through the city. This will be completed at the Rapture (a sudden catching up; 1Co 15:51-52; 1Th 4:13-18) when the bridegroom (Jesus Christ) returns for his bride (the Church).

Third Part: Wedding Supper. A wedding supper was held, which could go on for days. This is fulfilled as described in Revelation (Rv 19:7-9), most likely in heaven after the Rapture and before Christ returns to Earth.

Attendees to the Wedding Feast: not everyone was invited. There were three main groups: the bridegroom, the bride, and the attendants. So, from this analogy, who will those be? The Bridegroom is none other than Jesus Christ; the Bride is the Church (these will now have their glorified bodies); the attendants are the Old Testament saints (these will not yet have glorified bodies but be whatever bodies souls have as we discussed in our previous post).

I know there is a lot of controversy around the Rapture event. Yet, as we see above, it does fit into the wedding scenario and would help to fulfill Rv 19 in heaven at the same time as the Tribulation Period is happening on Earth. It also allows it to last for an extended period of time similar to a normal Jewish wedding feast. There are also some other characteristics about the Rapture we should consider. It is an imminent event. There is nothing that must happen before this event can happen. All other events are tied to a Jewish timeline. This event is not tied to a Jewish timeline (nothing has to occur prior to this event occurring). This event is for the Church and does not involve the nation of Israel. Actually, this event happens so God can once again deal with the nation of Israel (more on that later). You can see how this really ties into the idea of the bride not knowing when her bridegroom would come for her.

The Rapture occurs at the end of the “Age of Gentiles”: “I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in” (Ro 11:25). The Feast of Pentecost represents this time period; two trumpet blasts occurred on this feast day (one to initiate it and one to complete it). Three types of sacrifices were made at Pentecost (Nu 10:10): the burnt offering with a trumpet blast, followed by a sin offering, followed by a fellowship offering with a trumpet blast. Isn’t that what we do currently? We accept Christ as our Savior (offering ourselves to him as a whole burnt offering), we continuously confess our sins (1Jn 1:9), and we will be with him and fellowship with him forever after the Rapture. What is the Rapture but the beginning of our eternal fellowship with Christ.

So, what will our new bodies at the Rapture be like? The intermediate bodies of those who died and are already in heaven are upgraded, or the souls receive a glorified body that will be like that of Christ (Pp 3:20-21; 1Jn 3:2). It would seem that our future glorified body will need a physical body to be transformed (1Co 15:52). Perhaps that is why righteous souls are said to be raised as they are already with Christ in a non-glorified state. Otherwise, why would a glorified body not be given at time of death? Why do the righteous souls have to come back for a body? This is a mystery that the scriptures do not explain. Yet, in the light of a Jewish wedding, it may be to fulfill the presentation of the bride to the bridegroom. The why is perhaps not that important as the sureness of the event is what matters. We do get some clues to the characteristics of our future glorified state. Our glorified bodies will be solid (Thomas was able to feel the scars of Jesus’ body; Jn 20:27), they will be similar to our natural body (Jesus was recognized and bore scars; Jn 20:20) yet these bodies can also look dissimilar (disciples on road to Emmaus did not recognize him; Lk 24:13-16), they can materialize and rematerialize (Jesus appeared in a closed room; Jn 20:19, and he disappeared from the disciples sight; Lk 24:31), and the physical realm has no power over these types of bodies (Jesus defied gravity in his ascension; Ac 1:9). I’m sure that is just the beginning! Great things await us. Are you excited!

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens